Tanvi Sinha
Delhi High Court on Monday sought answers from prosecution regarding the plea of arrested Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha.
Tanha was arrested under the controversial Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UAPA], seeking bail in connection with a case related to a conspiracy regarding the Delhi Riots in February last year.
A two-judge bench of Siddharth Mridul and A.J Bhambhani issued a notice to the prosecution demanding answers within three weeks to Tanha’s petition, with a further hearing listed for March 12th.
The plea concerned the dismissal of Bail Application filed by Tanha as per a Trial Court order on October 26 the last year.
Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal and Sowjhanya Shankaran for Tanha stated that they are challenging refusal to grant bail on grounds that the accused has been in custody since May 2020.
For the trial court hearing, it was alleged by Tanha’s counsels that the accused was not even present during the riots in Delhi and had not visited any protest sites where the incidences of riots and violence took place.
They spoke of no physical evidence connecting Tanha to the riots and no proof of him receiving funds for terrorist activities.
Tanha was rejected bail on the basis of Section 43(D) of the UAPA that states that an accused should not be released of the offence if prima facie the court believes the allegations against him to be true.